Humble Pie, Volume 7, the undergraduate literary magazine of California College of the Arts, was released December 2012.

About Humble Pie

The literary journal features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. It's made for and by students, many of whom are Writing and Literature majors, but also features the work of other Bay Area undergraduate students.

Steve Dickison (Writing and Literature faculty) coedited, designed, and is a contributor to the anthology Homage to Etel Adnan. This collection of original essays and poetry is a tribute to Lebanese American poet, novelist, essayist, and visual artist Etel Adnan (author of The Arab Apocalypse, Sitt Marie Rose, and Master of the Eclipse, among many other books), published on the occasion of her being selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center in San Francisco.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb was exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad -- the historic center of Baghdad bookselling -- wounding more than 100 people and killing more than 30. This anthology, long in preparation, begins with a historical introduction to al-Mutanabbi Street and includes the writing of Iraqis as well as a wide swath of international poets and writers who were outraged by this attack. The publisher PM Press, is local, and the book is coedited by the San Francisco bookseller Beau Beausoleil with the poet Deema Shehabi. Steve Dickison (Writing and Literature faculty), is one of many contributors.

Exploring the question “Where does al-Mutanabbi Street start?,” the book looks at both communities and nations, seeking to show the commonality between a small street in Baghdad and other individual cultural centers. Chapters examine al-Mutanabbi Street as a place for the free exchange of ideas, a place that has long offered its sanctuary to the complete spectrum of Iraqi voices, and a place where the roots of democracy took hold many hundreds of years ago.

The annual Alternative Press Expo (APO), the Bay Area's premiere showcase for independent comics and crafts, returns October 13-14 to the Concourse Exhibition Center (located at 635 8th Street). CCA is proud to take part in the event, where we will be promoting our newest graduate studies program -- the MFA in Comics!

This book, edited by Writing and Literature faculty member Justin Hall, showcases some of the best and most interesting queer comics of the last four decades. The work tackles complex issues of identity and a changing society with intelligence, humor, and imagination. No Straight Lines showcases major names such as Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, and Ralf Koenig; high-profile, cross-over creators who have dabbled in LGBT cartooning, such as the legendary artist David Wojnarowicz and media darling and advice columnist Dan Savage; and many talented but lesser known creators whose work deserves wider attention.

Fantagraphics Books and award-winning cartoonist Justin Hall have produced a definitive collection of the greatest LGBT comics created over the last four decades.

Out superheroes such as Northstar, Batwoman, and Green Lantern’s Alan Scott weren’t always a part of the landscape of comic book characters. Not so long ago even acknowledging the LGBT community was forbidden in the conventional world of comics. That didn’t stop queer cartooning and characters from existing, though.

Matt Silady loves teaching, storytelling, and drawing. And as CCA's unofficial "Professor of Comics," he gets to do all three every day. Silady's passion for his job is infectious. It is truly a calling, and it explains why every fall and spring semester course he's ever taught as part of both the college's undergraduate Writing and Literature Program and the MFA Program in Writing has been full to capacity.

"Any day that I can spread the word and show people what comics can do, it's a good day," admits Silady, whose plans are afoot to greatly expand CCA's graduate and undergrad comics curriculum to offer more opportunities to students interested in graphic storytelling.